Looking for a Fight
by RegenTaenzer
Summary: Just looking for a fight, Grimmjow gets just a bit more.
1. Chapter 1

At the beckoning of light streaming through the window, Grimmjow reluctantly awoke with a groan. This was, indeed, a situation he was not used to. Blinking away what grogginess he felt, the Espada sat up on his elbows and took a look at the sleeping form next to him. He mused a moment, thinking about the events of the night prior.

Looking for a fight, the blood-lusting Espada had entered the material world with the intention of starting a fight with his favorite punching bag. It was nothing, trying to find the redhead. When he did, he carelessly kicked in the glass window, which littered Ichigo's bed and floor with shards and splinters. The redhead was anything but excited to see him, and even less pleased at the method of Grimmjow's entrance. Ichigo had yelled; Ichigo had cursed. Yet, it didn't go further downhill. Somewhere in the middle of his taunts and Ichigo's complaints at his broken window, the situation derailed. In just a few quick moments, the two went from being at each other's throats to being all over each other.

So here he was, waking up in a glass riddled bed. Bruised, but no longer bleeding. Ichigo didn't seem to be in a better condition. At this realization about his current bedmate, Grimmjow couldn't help but smirk. It was his doing. However, when the teenager in question awoke and soon returned the Espada's look, he defaulted back to his normal aggressive self.

Ichigo, also returning to how he was before their night together, scowled. "You're still here?" The redhead, though, was actually surprised that the Espada hadn't left as soon as he was able. Though, he was secretly quite glad to see him.

"I figured I'd stay and kick your ass when you woke up," Grimmjow offered with a toothy smirk.

Ichigo scoffed even though he was smirking right back, "Shove it, Grimmjow. I have to go school." He got up, and inspected his wounds. Every now and then, he'd attempt to pick a stray shard of glass that had found its way in his flesh. Many of the inflicted wounds were visible, even if he were to wear a shirt, but luckily he could always give the excuse of being in a scuffle at some point. Nobody would suspect anything else.

The Espada was not pleased with the answer, "Fuck that, Kurosaki!" School? Why the hell would he want to waste his time?

"Maybe later," the teen smirked and headed off to shower and get ready for school.

In the other's absence, Grimmjow finally got off the bed and put on his clothes as he found them. Well, hell. Now this was boring! Finding that he'd rather not wait around as his rival of sorts got ready and definitely not while he was off at school, the Espada milled around the room for a few minutes before begrudgingly leaving to find something to fight.

Beating some hollows around was boring, since snowballs had a better chance in hell than they had with the sexta espada. Kicking just one around was enough to piss him off at the lack of a quarrel in the material world. Sure, he could go back to Hueco Mundo but he wanted to pick a fight with Kurosaki as soon as possible and, well, it would be a pain being scolded once he got back there. Finally, he resolved to finding the bastard redhead.

Hunting down the school, he took to lounging on the roof. Of course, the Espada would love to crash in there, kick around people enough to piss Ichigo off to the point of a real good fight. It was a good idea, so he sho--

A shriek crashed Grimmjow's train of thought and forced his attention to snap toward the source. Nobody was supposed to be able to see him, so what the hell? Settling his scowling gaze on the brunette at the rooftop's entrance, the kid was really freaking out.

"Wh-wh-who the hell are you?!" the loudmouthed kid stammered and screamed, pointing his finger with a trembling arm. This guy was giving him a bad feeling, and he looked scary to boot!

The Espada spat to his side and stood up, hands in his pockets. "Oi, do you know Kurosaki?"

This question only seemed to set him off, "Of course! But what do you want with him? Oh no! You must be the punk that beat him up! What do you want? If it's money or something, I'm sure that he'll pay you back! Oh god, don't kill him, okay?!" The brunette pleaded, wiggling and flailing and acting like it was absolutely the end of the world for his friend.

The scowl only intensified. What the hell was this kid going on about? Killing him would probably be the best damned thing that ever happened to, well, probably anyone stuck with this kid! Though, when he was just about to either cero the annoying bastard or maybe cut him in two, that familiar redhead came up behind him.

"What are you screaming about, Keigo?" Ichigo looked quite annoyed at his friend. That is, until he looked over and realized just who the brunette was screeching to. Grimmjow. Now, instead of annoyance toward Keigo, he quickly went to protection mode. "What the hell are you doing here, Grimmjow?"

"Tch, I'm here to kick your ass around," the Espada grinned viciously.

Ichigo sent a glance toward Keigo, before returning his attention upon the Espada. He could fight, but he still wanted to keep his well-guarded secret to himself. He didn't want Keigo--or anyone for that matter--to know that he was anything but what they knew in his 'normal' life. The redhead was ready to force his soul out of his body to fight, but it wasn't something he wanted to do. Thus, he tried to avoid the inevitable fight until it was more convenient. "Later, Grimmjow." Ichigo smirked, "I'll kick your ass later, don't worry. I just gotta finish some things."

The blue-haired arrancar laughed derisively, "Fine, but you better give me one hell of a fight or I'll rip you the hell apart! I'll be waiting, Kurosaki!" He turned and took a seat back on the ledge, that grin never disappearing for a moment.

Knowing that Grimmjow was not one for patience, Ichigo just hoped that he could hang on long enough for the classes to be over. Because of all his absences since becoming a substitute shinigami, he could hardly afford to miss class to fight a fight that could be put off a little longer. He was itching for the prospective fight, but it had to wait. To avoid it starting up, he grabbed the confused and frightened Keigo by the wrist and quickly tried to lead him back down the stairs. The group would just have to meet elsewhere for lunch - he'd hate to think how Inoue and Chad would react to the Espada sitting on the roof and watching them with a lust for bloodshed. Especially Inoue.

Finally being able to gather the group out under a tree, Ichigo felt he could relax just a bit. Though, Keigo was restless after seeing what he saw, and kept glancing up at the rooftop. He felt a little bad that the brunette was worried for him, but at least he had avoided Grimmjow killing the poor guy.

Keigo scooted up to Ichigo, "Hey, Ichigo!" He was energetic, but still was obviously bothered. "Who was that guy, huh? He's not any punk that I've heard about! Is he a new guy? Oh! Or did you invade his territory and pissed him off and now he's out for blood?!" Oh, Keigo's imagination. He was also starting to gesture a bit to accompany his questioning. No doubt, the brunette was inventing a crazy story with pictures in his mind.

"Yeah, that." Ichigo mumbled, not wanting to explain in detail about the Espada, hollows, shinigami, and what he had to do with them.

The brunette gasped, "You're screwed, Ichi! You better try to avoid him, 'cause he looks really tough! Not to mention what he did to you yesterday!" Immediately, he latched onto Ichigo and wiggled around.

Ichigo was tired of hearing Keigo screech and try to convince him to run away from the fight. More so, he cursed the fact that Grimmjow would bother coming to his school to find him and try to bait him into fighting. Now one of his friends knew of this guy and-- Wait. Keigo was able to see the prick? How could he? Well, that was certainly a problem! This meant that he couldn't risk using his shinigami form around Keigo, and he wondered about his other friends. After all, he had been told at one point that he was the reason that Inoue and Chad were able to do the things they could. It didn't sit well with him, since that just meant that his other friends could be in significant amounts of danger too.

The rest of the school day, the substitute shinigami was on edge. After all, Grimmjow could decide at any time that he was sick of waiting and would charge in and try to drag him into a fight! He was surprised enough that he'd waited this long, anyway. Not to mention that he was hoping the Espada wasn't still sitting impatiently on the roof. Who knows what could happen if someone like Keigo unwittingly wandered to the roof and pissed off the man they couldn't see!

As soon as the school session was over, Ichigo quickly left after telling everyone he had to hurry because his family was expecting him early and that he had a lot to do. In truth, obviously, it was because he had to satiate the blood-lusting bastard's need to fight. And that very bastard wasn't about to wait either.

By use of sonido, Grimmjow appeared not to far away from Ichigo. "Your time's up, Kurosaki!" A challenging and vicious grin proved his remaining desire to fight. After all, he had been waiting all damn day for this! "And don't be giving me any bullshit that you have more you've gotta do! You're gonna fight me, even if I have to beat you to an inch of your life before you even try!"

"Yeah," the redhead smirked. "But, I have to get home and get out of this body before that."


	2. Chapter 2

Both contenders breathed heavily; both beaten and bleeding. But this was all a matter of fun and a battle to inflate one's ego while piercing the others. This was just the way things were!

Ichigo panted despite his smirk, "Heh… You got me good there, Grimmjow." He was tired and aching, but it was refreshing to be flexing his muscles even though he was still achy and healing from the night before. At least being in Hueco Mundo, with its dense spirit particles, was helping him feel like he could push himself a little bit more. As much as he wouldn't always admit, he liked fighting this Espada as long as he wasn't forced to actually kill him. It was a sport between them, even.

That ferocious grin formed of the Espada's lips, though he was just about as equally exhausted from this battle. He was in his Ressurección state, just as Ichigo was in his Bankai form supplemented by hollowfication. It was just that damned serious - something that would likely disturb Ichigo's friends that they were doing such things all in play.

It was clear that the fight was winding down, however. That mask of Ichigo's clung only around a solitary eye - the rest had crumbled away to nothing. Grimmjow, too, knew Pantera would not hold for much longer, but there was no way that he would be the first to break. Kicking off a pillar, he sped toward Ichigo and took a swipe at his redheaded opponent. However, Ichigo had moved to parry which forced the Espada to maneuver so that the blades on his arm would catch the blade. So, subsequently, he took another swipe while aiming a cero that ended up throwing Ichigo back from the force of contact.

The substitute shinigami quickly righted himself, skidding backward as he tried to regain his composure. Once this was attained, he'd launch forward and slash Zangetsu, "Getsuga Tenshou!" As per his command, a red and black arc was thrown toward Grimmjow who concentrated a cero to hopefully nullify the attack. When he found he could not, the Espada did his best to cross his arms in front of him as a makeshift shield.

Ichigo wasted no time by using shunpo toward his enemy to follow up his attack with another swing of his zanpakuto. However, Grimmjow was still quick to correct himself, block the second strike and plant a sharp kick to the shinigami's chest. The Espada shouted a taunt to spur the other fighter on, "C'mon, Kurosaki! Ya gotta do better than that to take me down!"

The next clash of their blades began to show even more of their wearing down, both contenders were struggling to keep their breath while they had been rushing around and using so much energy. "Do better," Ichigo questioned between pants with an edge of baiting. "You're barely clinging on to Pantera."

"Same to you, bastard," Grimmjow smirked in his own dark sense of humor. If he had the chance just now, he would kill Kurosaki even though it probably wouldn't happen the other way around. Even knowing this, there was no way that he'd stand down! He liked the guy, that much was certain; but he also was repulsed and pissed off by him too!

That was the strange thing about the relationship. Grimmjow hated his choice punching bag, but found that fighting him was absolutely exhilarating and the same could be said about screwing him! Ichigo, on the other hand, did possess feelings for the Espada that went beyond finding that great amount of fun in fighting against him. Since neither was willing to openly admit anything more than liking to beat the other around to other, and himself in Grimmjow's case, they never found themselves wanting to talk about it. Plus, Ichigo knew that the Espada would likely not take to any "romantic" ideals. Which was true, since Grimmjow was certainly not the gentlemanly type!

However, after the battle was brought to its end not too far along through Ichigo finally managing to beat his "sparring" partner down enough that he couldn't fight anymore, the two found themselves exhausted and leaning against a pillar side-by-side until they had strength enough to do anything more. Despite his still bleeding wounds, Ichigo made a bold effort to lean the side of his head against Grimmjow's shoulder.

Grimmjow had cast a dubious look toward the redhead at this gesture, but there had been no effort to stop it. Surprisingly seeming to resign to allowing it, he leaned his head against the cement behind him and settled his attention on the dark, night sky. It was always dark, but that didn't matter - he wasn't focused on that anyway.

"Hey, Grimmjow." Ichigo's tone was flat, if only because he was tired. If he had a little more energy, the fact that it was asking for the other's attention would have been made more obvious.

The Espada replied in a gruff manner, "What do ya want?"

Unlike the other times where they had sparred and when they took the battle to bed, Ichigo had been starting to wonder. If he was going to be continuing in this lifestyle he had going with Grimmjow, he might as well see if he could be humored enough to get this thing made official. After all, he was a self-respecting guy! As much as he enjoyed how things went, he was beginning to want this to be his and Grimmjow's alone. He wanted Grimmjow for himself. No more of that casual crap. Maybe it could make it more interesting while they tried to get used to it. "I want you."

Those blue eyes slid in their sockets to take a look at the redhead. What the hell? Grimmjow scoffed, "Damn, Kurosaki. That fight got you hot enough to want it already?"

"No, you bastard," the substitute shinigami muttered. "I don't want you like that." Ichigo narrowed his eyes as he tried to think of something to say. Damn his not planning on something! Plus, he was even starting to get flustered. "I mean, I do want you like that! Its just that I don't want it to be like it doesn't mean anything. … I don't want it to be so casual."

"I hit your head too hard or something?" What was with that pansy shit Kurosaki was spouting? Of course it would be casual!

"Damn it, Grimmjow! I'm being serious!"

The Espada was taken by surprise when Ichigo barked out his being serious. Damn, the kid was really pissed that he wasn't taking this seriously? Though, he had to admit that it could have its perks. If he let Kurosaki feel like they were attached, then it could mean far more opportunity to fight and fuck - the things his little red-haired nemesis was good at! His frown twisted into his well-known aggressive grin, "Yeah, sure. We can do that, Kurosaki."


	3. Chapter 3

It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out Grimmjow's moods, which Ichigo couldn't be happier about that. There was nothing more annoying than having someone who wasn't easy to read. The downside, however, was that the Espada didn't care who knew of their relationship. If he was in the mood, Grimmjow didn't care who was watching. That was the problem.

As much as he wanted Grimmjow to be his, Ichigo certainly didn't want his _friends_ to know about the relationship. There was way too many questions that would be needed to be answered, and a whole load of conflicting interests since they were on enemy sides. It was one of those things that was far better left unsaid, or in this case: unknown.

If only he could be so lucky…

"C'mon, Ichi~! Let's go to the arcade!" Keigo wiggled around in some sort of dance, as he tried to convince his friend in a singsong voice.

Ichigo walked a long, eyes closed and his eyebrows knit together. He didn't want to play, but it was something that Keigo never seemed to understand. Unlike Keigo who aimed to do horribly in school, some people actually had to study.

The lax but mildly irritating situation of it all, unfortunately for Ichigo, was shattered as a familiar Espada had lunged for him. Ichigo was, obviously on the disadvantage: he couldn't fight well in his regular, non-shinigami form and exiting his body in front of someone who could see spirits would ruin his cover he had in regard to Keigo.

Of course, when it happened, he just _had _to be accompanied at the moment by possibly the worst people to be having around at the moment. Ishida and Keigo. Well, it was more along the lines of Keigo following him around chattering and Ishida happened to be around at the present moment. Two people that would probably never let him live anything about a relationship with Grimmjow down.

Grabbing the front of the shirt, Grimmjow had used this to keep Ichigo as he shoved him hard into the wall not too far behind him. In an almost fluid motion, he forced his lips against the substitute shinigami's and proceeded to kiss him hungrily.

Feeling his face burn from both anger and embarrassment, Ichigo gave his lover a sharp push to break the kiss, "What the hell are you doing?!" Not only could hear he hear Keigo screaming about the punk attacking and molesting his innocent friend, but he could feel that piercing gaze of the Quincy not too far away. His friends were in immediate danger, and his carefully guarded secret was a necessary thing to use if Grimmjow started to get testy. This was not a situation he could win, and he was sure he'd be questioned either way by Ishida.

Grimmjow studied the redhead for a moment with a dull expression, before a dubious grin formed. "Oh, I see what's going on," he purred.

Unsure of what Grimmjow meant, Ichigo shot him a sideward glance.

"Yeah," the Espada smirked and indulged Ichigo in a particularly uncouth explanation. "Ya don't want your little friends here to know you like getting your brains fucked out, so you don't want to let on. So would ya rather fight then, Kurosaki?" It wasn't too different a deal, so Grimmjow didn't care either way.

If it was at all possible for Ichigo's blush to deepen, it surely did. "Shove off," he protested. Of course, it was all true. He didn't want anyone to know that he and Grimmjow were an item, and surely didn't want them to know the expanse of what they did together.

This only seemed to encourage Grimmjow, as his grin widened. "Well, its alright though. I'll tell you why, Kurosaki. I'll kill the bastards, and you won't have to worry about them squealing."

On cue, practically, Keigo shrieked and started chattering about something that Ichigo didn't even bother to listen to. Surely, Ishida was busying himself to fight if he needed to. Though, it seemed that Ishida was rather unwilling to show that he was a Quincy to the loudmouthed brunette. However, Ichigo was on a complete defensive. "You better not," the redhead growled.

"Oh? Why not?" Grimmjow donned an indifferent, dull look.

Not wanting to explain, since anything would sound stupid to the other, Ichigo simply took the initiative to throw a fist at the Espada which connected hard against his jaw. He almost regretted doing it, but was pretty convinced that the bastard deserved it.

That bored look the Espada had taken was knocked off with the punch. Though after he spat a little blood from it, a vicious, toothy grin was apparent. "That's it, Kurosaki! Keep giving me that look I hate!" he demanded with clear excitement. This was what he wanted. If Ichigo wasn't willing to screw around, it was more than enough for him if they were to battle tooth and nail. And hell, there was still a chance that they could devolve into something dirty. That always worked too. To keep this going, Grimmjow threw two punches in succession, "C'mon, Kurosaki!"

Ichigo took the hits, though he'd tried to block them. When he was about to retaliate further, an arrow of spirit particles had flew between the pair which had caused Grimmjow to jump back a few steps. The redhead couldn't help but look at Ishida with a rather surprised expression, though nodding quickly in thanks. Ishida, however, had his eyes hidden by his glasses, but Ichigo could only assume that he wasn't in a good mood at what he was seeing.

"What the hell," Grimmjow growled. Well, he'd just have to dispose of this bastard before he could have fun with Ichigo. Though, it could also serve to work the redhead up too, since Ichigo seemed to hate seeing his comrades in danger. Throwing himself headlong toward the Quincy, he quickly dodged a few arrows here and there to throw a punch amplified by a cero.

A surprised expression shot onto Ishida's face, that is until the attack was blocked. Before the Quincy stood a certain substitute shinigami with his blade drawn and deflecting the cero.

Ichigo generally trusted his friends with powers, but it had been an instinct to have shoved his spirit out of his body and shunpo over to throw himself between danger and his friend. Still, he hoped that he could catch up with Rukia or Urahara to get one of those things to make Keigo forget that he'd seen this whole situation. After all, Keigo was freaking out enough as it was.

The Espada grinned wildly, "That's it! Keep lookin' at me like that, Kurosaki! C'mon and bring out that hollow mask of yours!"

"I refuse," Ichigo growled. "I won't fight you here. Not where my friends can get hurt."

"Well, damn," Grimmjow scoffed. "Ya know how to kill the mood."

The redhead simply scowled.

"Tch, fine. We'll take this to Hueco Mundo, but don't cry to me that ya have something else to do. I don't care." Thoroughly displeased, the Espada shoved his hands in his pockets before making a tear occur for him to step through and be followed by Ichigo.

Ichigo had begun to walk through the garganta.

That is, until Ishida called out to him, "W-wait, Kurosaki! What do you think you're doing?! You're just going to follow that arrancar into Hueco Mundo without a second thought? Are you crazy?!"

The redhead seemed to catch a subtle hint of fear in Ishida's voice, though he disregarded it as his ears probably hearing wrong. That and Keigo's screaming and protesting made the Quincy hard to hear at times. No matter, he tried to talk in the calmest and most assuring voice he could manage, "I'll be back later. Don't worry about me. Just bring Keigo to Urahara and have him forget what happened here, okay?"

In an indignant fashion, Ishida pushed up his glasses, "Why should I bring him? You should be the one bringing him! After all--" The Quincy stopped short as he looked up to find that Ichigo had already left. Irritated at this, Ishida didn't even bother to look at Keigo. "Come with me," he muttered as he began to walk in the direction toward Urahara Shoten. What Ichigo was thinking, Ishida couldn't even begin to comprehend.


	4. Chapter 4

"So what was the big idea?" Ichigo shouted at his lover as soon as the tear closed. There wouldn't be any more people he was friends with overhearing them, so he could talk more freely.

Grimmjow looked disinterestedly ahead in their traveling, "Quit your bitching, Kurosaki. Who cares if anyone saw? It was you that wanted this."

"Yeah, I wanted it, but I didn't want my friends knowing about it yet." Ichigo scowled. His argument was losing any weight he had, particularly because his partner was completely bullheaded.

"Tch. Who cares."

"Obviously I do, asshole."

Clearly irritated, the Espada spat to the side in a sort of rude declaration that he was done talking. The conversation was over, and he was probably not in the mood to do anything but fight anymore. So Ichigo kept his mouth closed, and continued his disgruntled look.

It was silent for the rest of the travel, and the feel of sand was a welcome one as they reached the outskirts of Hueco Mundo. Ichigo didn't need to worry now about keeping reiatsu under himself in a path, or losing said path and giving the currently sulky Grimmjow another reason to make fun of him.

Grimmjow glanced briefly at Ichigo from the corner of his eye, seeming to consider something which Ichigo couldn't quite distinguish and so the redhead merely shrugged if off.

Quickly, Ichigo regretted his decision.

Having found that Ichigo had lowered his guard, the Espada took the initiative to make his move. Twisting his body to make a more for a more effective momentum, Grimmjow kicked an arc of sand up toward Ichigo's face. And in the instant that it took the substitute shinigami to regain composure from reflexes, Grimmjow had used the continued momentum to grab Ichigo and throw him to the ground. Immediately after, he threw himself on the redhead to pin him down by holding his wrists down firmly, all with a vicious grin.

This grin turned more sadistic when it had been met with a cold look, "The hell's that look for? Trying to watch and see if I'll start beating the hell out of you, Kurosaki?"

Ichigo simply watched, never amending his cold, irritated look. He knew Grimmjow probably wouldn't do anything but talk where they were, and he also knew that it would piss the other off with him not rising to any bait.

That toothy grin of Grimmjow's faded, replaced with a frown as he glowered. Ichigo's icy stare was no fun, particularly since it held no interesting anything beside that irritation. Oh, but the Espada aimed to put a fitting expression on that redhead's face.

He moved to kiss the shinigami roughly, only to have his attention jerked quickly away and off toward the rear before he had the satisfaction of the lip-lock. Cursing under his breath, Grimmjow shifted on top of his prey in a way that was more protective than lustful - as if he were ready to fend off a scavenger. He sensed something, and Ichigo felt that very something not too much later. Something that would be not only annoying at the present state of time, but also very dangerous.

Grimmjow sneered, "Get lost, bastard."

"What're you doin' with a shinigami, Grimmjow?" Nnoitra stood not too far off, his weapon out - more or less for intimidation rather than really expecting the other Espada to really fight. He was ready for battle and hoping it would arise, but for now it was just putting down Grimmjow and investigating the strange situation. After all, neither seemed beaten up or even fighting; just what was going on here? Either way, he was undaunted and callously grinning.

"Tch, like I'd tell you." Grimmjow wasn't concerned, as he was sure he could take the other. Who was he to worry about challenging an Espada higher up than he was? He remained over Ichigo for a moment without having moved since sensing Nnoitra's coming, only moving after a few moments by standing up and to the side of his favorite prey.

It was Ichigo who was concerned. Espada made him uneasy, and the primer for battle felt thick in the air, threatening to ignite at any moment. Similar to his partner, Ichigo felt he could defend himself if it all boiled down to that. He just hoped that Grimmjow could deal with this interloping Espada, but expecting such a hot-tempered arrancar like him to defuse the situation was like thinking a snowball could thrive in Hell. At least he had an ally in this affair.

As luck would have it, both Espada's attention was diverted off one another with the calling of a meeting by Aizen. Both disgruntled, a peeved look crossed the faces of the Espada. Ichigo was concerned, if not angry, as this obviously meant Aizen was probably planning something against Soul Society. Probably, though, there was nothing he could do at the moment.

Waiting for Nnoitra to leave, Grimmjow glowered and turned to Ichigo once the coast was clear. His mood obviously didn't improve, "Fuck it, Kurosaki." The arrancar ripped a garganta for his 'guest,' before begrudgingly stalking off to allow for the shinigami to get out. He could get the bastard later.

Even Ichigo had enough sense not to try charging in right now, being that all the Espada and Aizen would be waiting for him without any immediate gains like saving a friend. So, being that it was useless to just sit around, Ichigo returned to the material world while hoping his friends wouldn't be there ready to ask.

Gladly, there was nobody around when he arrived and so he headed home. It wasn't too far from where he lived, and he possibly only needed to travel a few streets. He couldn't help feeling lucky for this, and for the discovered absence of his family. Nobody to bug him, and he avoided a little family outing. So as it were, he took a shower and headed in to do some studying before bed.

The next day in class was typical: class, Keigo being annoying, lunch, more classes. Speaking of Keigo, it seemed as though Ishida actually did as Ichigo asked and had the guy's memory wiped. It was that, Ichigo speculated, or he just wasn't mentioning it. The latter seemed impossible.

The end of the classes couldn't have been any sooner, and Ichigo was just wanting to get out and go home with as little a catch as possible. Keigo was fended off and he was able to convince his friends he really couldn't stay, so everything was going according to plan. But, of course, there's always a catch in every plan. Unfortunately.

Ishida stood waiting, arms crossed. On his face was a look more disgusted than usual, and this time not because Ichigo was a shinigami or incompetent.

Narrowing his eyes as he tried to figure both a way around Ishida and what Ishida's main problem might be, Ichigo watched the Quincy for a moment. Soon, he figured it wasn't something he wanted to bother with, so he tried to walk past hastily.

As Ichigo started to pass him, Ishida grabbed his arm in an indignant way and jerked him to turn him around, "What the hell were you thinking? Sleeping with an arrancar?! And what if it were him or us! Would you choose him, if it were a situation where either we had to die or he did? I knew you were stupid, but I didn't know you were insane!"

"Its not like that, Ishida. Just leave me alone, okay? I wouldn't let him hurt you guys. You've just got to trust me." Hoping that Ishida would allow him to leave, Ichigo pulled his arm away.

Still unconvinced but defeated for the moment, the Quincy pushed up his glasses in irritation. "Fine, do as you'd like, Kurosaki. Just don't get any one else killed with you because you're too naïve to realize what you're doing. For all you know, it could be according to Aizen's plans."

Ichigo frowned and furrowed his brows, "Its not." Not wanting to continue this exchange of words, he then turned and walked off. After a block, what Ishida had said started to bug him. It was hard for him to imagine Grimmjow consenting to a relationship solely because Aizen had somehow found a reason for it in advancing his plans. Finding it ridiculous, he was able to do away with the thoughts.

Unfortunately, the substitute shinigami found himself trying to conceive this notion as he lay alone in bed while trying to sleep. Ichigo became frustrated, groaning and mussing his hair, "Damn it! Why'd Ishida have to go and say tha--"

He stopped dead in his tracks as he heard the plastic over his still-broken window being pushed in, shooting a glance over toward the window next to him. Both startled and annoyed, Ichigo jumped up, "What the hell are you doing here?!"


	5. Chapter 5

On the windowsill squatted a familiar shopkeeper, eyes shaded by his hat. "Hello, Kurosaki-san!" Urahara grinned goofily as he fanned himself a bit.

"What are you doing here?" Ichigo reiterated, wanting his question answered. After all, Urahara just barged right in while he was trying to sleep! Beside that, it was terribly strange for that shinigami shopkeeper to show up - usually there was some way requested to make him show up at the shoten. Though, this did seem like less hassle…

"Me?" he inquired incredulously, as if he didn't expect Ichigo to have questioned him. Or, more likely, he was just trying to play dumb. "I'm just sitting here! But, now that you mention it, I wanted to discuss with you your new friend I've heard about."

The substitute shinigami couldn't help but feel that Urahara already knew all the facts and was just - like Ishida - trying to lead up to telling him it was a stupid idea and that he need to get his head examined. The aura that his mentor was exuding, despite his cheerful demeanor, was clearly that of, well, nothing cheerful or giddy. Ichigo parroted slowly, "my new friend?"

It was obvious who Urahara was talking about.

"Urahara, I know that it may not make any sense and it might be kinda hard to trust, but you just have to believe me. I wouldn't choose Grimmjow over my friends or Soul Society, even my work as a substitute shinigami."

This plea didn't seem to go over well with the shinigami turned shopkeeper, "And what if this is part of Aizen's plans? Surely having you tied up with one of his subordinates could help him a great deal because you might be manipulated that way."

Ichigo shook his head, "Grimmjow hates Aizen and has his pride. I don't think he'd be alright with doing something like this unless he wanted to do it." Urahara's seriousness bothered the redhead, but there wasn't much he could do but try to divert the reasonable concerns. It made sense in a way for Aizen to find a way to manipulate one of the more formidable forces against him, but he was having trouble seeing Grimmjow as agreeing. Yet… there was still a shadow of doubt, Ichigo wasn't too sure of Grimmjow's intentions particularly because they didn't seem to have much of a loving relationship.

Urahara's fan was snapped shut, a frown revealed from behind it. "Kurosaki, you can't be sure of his intentions. If you still insist on being with Grimmjow romantically, please make sure you're very careful with both him and who knows about your relationship. Right now, the only people aware of it are myself, Ishida-kun, Rukia-chan, Tessai-san, and Renji-san. I've done all I can to make sure that they won't say anything, but I can't guarantee that they'll keep it completely quiet. If the captains or the Central 46 get wind of this, it could mean the loss of your shinigami powers because of the conflicting interests."

It was disheartening to know that Rukia and Renji were now aware of his situation, and he was certainly concerned with how they would feel about it. Though, he assured himself that they would at least not mind his preference - it was Grimmjow that they would have a problem with. "Okay. Thanks for the heads up, Urahara."

Returning to his cheerful demeanor, Urahara offered a goofy grin, "Good luck, Kurosaki-san! Don't forget to stop by the shoten, 'cause I've got some good deals going on!"

Ichigo frowned, watching as the shopkeeper shunpoed from the window sill and into the night. Once he was sure that Urahara was gone, the substitute shinigami pressed the tape back down to seal his window back up. With a significant amount of waiting to fall asleep because of considering everything that was going on now, Ichigo finally went to bed.

Although night felt like ten times the length it usually was, it finally yielded to morning as the sun arose. Ichigo, having suffered a lack of much sleep, had decided that going to school today was nothing he desired to do, even before opening his eyes.

When he did open his eyes, there was a surprise waiting for him.

Ichigo stared for a moment as his vision cleared, only to jump up to a sitting position in surprise to have woken up with a face not too far from his own, "What the hell?!" Quickly, he calmed down and frowned deeply.

"Hey, asshole. Took you long enough to wake up!" Grimmjow smirked viciously at his place next to the bed in a squatting position, "How 'bout we go to Hueco Mundo and I kick your ass?"

"I have stuff to ask you, Grimmjow." Ichigo was vehement about being able to ask.

Grimmjow could tell. "Woah, calm the hell down. What the hell do you need to ask?" he smirked.

The redhead's convictions faded a little, though he quickly regained his fervor. " I wanna know something. You dating me, that's not something Aizen told you to do. Right?"

The very smirk was wiped off of his face. "Why the hell would he do that? Let me guess. You think I would waste my time with someone 'cause that asshole told me. Fuck that and anyone who put that in that shitty head of yours."

Ichigo shook his head and grinned, "Yeah, I figured you wouldn't do something like that. Now, all I would need to do is make the guys believe me that you're not."

"Tch."

"What? You know they'd take away my shinigami powers if they really start to think you and I'm a conflict of interest." Ichigo copied that smug smirk that Grimmjow would often make, "then I wouldn't be able to give you a good fight anymore. I don't think you'd be happy with fighting a defenseless human, so I need to think of a way to show them that you're not with me just 'cause Aizen said so."

"They wouldn't believe a word I say," Grimmjow glowered. "So don't look at me."

The redhead pondered, trying to think of some conceivable way that he could show the others that there wasn't a conflict of interest. There was no way he could think of, especially because any attempt at proving the point could just look like an aggressive liar. Figuring that could wait, Ichigo smirked, "So what about that fight you offered?"

The Espada immediately brightened up to his smug and violent self, "Fuck yeah, Kurosaki. Now you're talkin'. Let's go."

Eager for the pending fight, Grimmjow got up from his squatting position to tear a garganta - albeit in the middle of Ichigo's room. He waited for his punching bag to enter the tear first before he would follow after. "Ya better be ready. I wanna have you using your mask and Bankai, and I won't go easy on you at all. Don't be a shithead getting soft on me."

"Heh, don't worry about it, Grimmjow." Ichigo used his talisman to force himself out of his body, leaving it on the bed before he would follow.

Once in Hueco Mundo, Grimmjow was the one to initiate the fight they had already agreed upon. Turning quickly, the Espada threw his fist at the his nemesis and lover, though it was easily dodged and resulted in Ichigo jumping backwardly to make distance between them.

In that time, Ichigo had unsheathed Zangetsu and took a defensive position. Grimmjow hadn't bothered taking out Pantera, being that he was bent on bringing their fight to a more exciting level. After all, he felt that it was too easy to win against the shinigami without his Bankai or mask.

"What'd I say, asshole?" the arrancar glowered impatiently at his opponent.

Ichigo looked down at his sword and then back to the Espada before smirking, "Oh, right." Funneling his energy, he set about releasing his bankai. Black spiritual energy traveled up the large blade before Zangetsu was compressed into a thin, black sword; his outfit, too, changed - the tail-end of his untucked, red-lined kimono fluttering behind him as the spiritual energy started to die down from the transformation.

While waiting, Pantera was drawn as Grimmjow began pepping himself up for battle. It had been a while and it seemed like it would be a good tooth-and-nail battle, so he was definitely ready to go. It was no secret either, what with his maniacal grin forming.

It would be a lie if Ichigo were to say he wasn't getting excited too. Still smirking, he freed up one of his hands to drag it down his face to form the Vaizard mask. "You better release Pantera too, Grimmjow."

He didn't have to be told twice, especially because he was already prepared to do so. Making the sword parallel to his waist with one hand, the other was dragged down the blade whilst he called to his resurrección, "Grind, Pantera!"

Once the dust had settled, a confident Grimmjow stood in full resurrección form, hands curled into loose fists and his tail slithering behind him. Both in their greatest conditions, the battle could finally commence - something that both contenders were eagerly awaiting.

Ichigo kicked off, launching himself at his foe, "Getsuga Tenshou!" The shinigami followed the attack up with slashing out at Grimmjow. The Espada quickly jumped out of the way after having broken through the black arc, discovering Ichigo right behind it.

The Espada quickly went in for a kick afterward, catching the other in the gut before flinging him in the same motion. Of course, he wouldn't leave Ichigo alone. Quickly pursuing with a sonido before the shinigami had a chance to land, Grimmjow pointed his fingers together to thrust at the redhead, fortified with reiatsu to increase the damage. Just as he had planned, it made a connection even though Ichigo moved and he only was able to jab the shinigami's shoulder instead of his chest. Still, a satisfactory wound was left, immediately bleeding a bit.

However, Ichigo swung his sword out which managed to cut across the arrancar's chest. Grimmjow took it in stride, doing a quick backflip to get away from any coming attack since his body was already in a momentum. Once this flip was complete, the Espada simply leapt right back at Ichigo who was also coming for him.

Grimmjow raised a bent arm, catching Zangetsu in defense with the blades on his arm. That arm was then thrown to the side as he brought his leg up to kick Ichigo in the ribs as a parrying blow. When his blocking arm was free of the redhead's sword, it was swung right back up as Grimmjow shifted to bring his leg back. This resulted in a sharp blow to Ichigo's face. Further, the Espada threw his other fist right after the first before beginning to kick and punch in succession.

Finally, Grimmjow planted a strong kick to Ichigo's chest before spinning off of him to go for an even stronger one that ultimately sent the shinigami flying.

Ichigo was able to slow his descent and right himself, swinging his sword to gain full composure. From where he stopped himself, the redhead pushed off toward his fair-weather foe before pitching another Getsuga Tenshou at him.

The energy arc was again broken through, Grimmjow going in for another kick. When he tried to flip off of the redhead's gut, Ichigo managed to grab a fistful of the Espada's lengthy hair and tug it to produce an ungraceful jerk back. Of course, this did not make for a happy arrancar as he immediately tried to fire off one of the rocket-like projectiles from his elbow as he corrected his position. Stupid bastard, Grimmjow thought angrily to himself.

"Shi--" Ichigo quickly tried to get out of the way, but a point-blank assault of that nature was nothing to be avoided. Hit with the projectile, the shinigami was sent spiraling down only to hit the ground with painful force.

The Espada was quick to follow and was immediately on top of his redheaded nemesis. His arm was cocked back, his clawed hand ready to pierce. Grimmjow grinned wildly, well… Until he found that he couldn't bring himself to finish off the kid that he hated so much yet seemed to have feelings for. As much as he wanted to kill the cocky bastard, something was holding him back. What it was, well, he couldn't quite figure that out.

Smirking despite the pain, Ichigo tried to joke around with his would-be killer. "Heh… what're you waiting for, Grimmjow?"

Grimmjow gritted his teeth, trying to convince himself to just kill the bastard and be done with it. After all, Ichigo was one of the people that looked down on him. He vowed to kill that meddling substitute shinigami; yet, when he was given the perfect chance, some worthless emotion was stopping him. "Tch," the Espada spat to the side before angrily standing up and stalking away a short distance. His resurrección form was deactivated, and his sword materialized in his hand. Shoving the sword sharply into its sheath, Grimmjow tore a garganta for Ichigo before leaving.


End file.
